Twelve months after missing the party, Daniil Medvedev is back on the guest list. The Russian needed just two sets on Friday to dispatch Adrian Mannarino, a Frenchman who came through qualifying, and move into the last four in Vienna, and the win delivered the final points he needed for the ATP Finals in Turin.
It will be his seventh trip to the season finale. Medvedev, 30, qualified every year from 2019 through 2024 before falling short in 2025. Only three men had sealed their places before him: Zverev, Alcaraz and the American Ben Shelton. Jannik Sinner also has the points but is injured and will miss Turin, which leaves half of the eight slots still up for grabs.
Friday also marked the 100th tour-level quarter-final of his career, and it was far calmer than his previous outing, when Cameron Norrie held a match point against him. He broke Mannarino in the very first return game, broke again for 5-2 to seal the set, and one more break, for 4-3 in the second, settled a 6-2, 6-3 scoreline. The world No. 5 said the match was full of long, flat rallies and that he was pleased to have handled the big points better.
The numbers behind his revival are solid: four titles this season, the latest in Almaty, and a win tally past 50, a mark he had not reached since 2023. Saturday brings Alcaraz, who got past Tommy Paul in straight sets, winning the second in a tie-break, to reach a 50th career semi-final on tour. The Spaniard lost their most recent meeting and is openly eyeing payback.
In the top half, the German top seed and world No. 1 Zverev lost just two games against a hampered Arthur Fery of Britain, wrapping up the quarter-final inside an hour.
